COMPARISON OF FATIGUE DATA FOR POLYESTER

AND WIRE ROPES RELEVANT TO DEEPWATER MOORINGS

Stephen J Banfield*, John F Flory**, John W S Hearle*, Martin S Overington*

* Tension Technology International Ltd

16 Milnthorpe Road, Eastbourne
Sussex, BN20 7NR, UK

** Tension Technology International Inc

4 Tower Lane, Morristown
NJ 07960, USA

ABSTRACT demonstrate fatigue mechanisms, the model shows

an early drop in strength due to hysteresis heating
Polyester ropes are now established in deepwater and a second drop as some yarns fail in axial
moorings, but more research is needed to understand compression fatigue. After a very large number of
long-term durability and to optimise systems. cycles, internal abrasion takes effect and finally creep
rupture occurs.
Three categories of rope failures –
environmental, surface damage, and structural – are The general conclusions are that, polyester ropes
not considered to be likely problems for deepwater are suitable for deepwater moorings for expected
polyester moorings which are properly designed and lifetimes of 20 years and that their potential fatigue
used. Fatigue of fibres in the rope is thus the concern performance is at least as good as spiral strand steel
of this paper. The fatigue mechanisms of interest are wire rope at loads representative for FPS mooring.
creep tensile fatigue, compression fatigue and internal But more research may be needed to identify and
abrasion. quantify active fatigue mechanisms to enable
engineers of mooring systems to satisfy regulatory
Laboratory test data on potential fibre fatigue bodies and certification authorities.
mechanisms is reviewed with reference to typical
mooring system service conditions. For a 20 year life, Keywords: POLYESTER ROPE FATIGUE
a typical mooring might experience 60 million cycles, MOORINGS DURABILITY
mostly due to small waves. The occasional severe
cycling which might be experienced during storm INTRODUCTION
conditions will cause little fatigue damage.
The use of polyester ropes to moor floating
Tensile fatigue and creep rupture will not occur in production platforms in deep water has now passed
polyester fibres at the applicable low loads. from initial research studies into actual use. Petrobras
Hysteresis heating is not significant for strain has installed several systems in depths up to 1500
amplitudes less than +0.5%, but might be a problem meters in the Campos Basin. Confidence needed for
with the larger amplitudes which might occur in their future use in the Northern North Sea, North
shallow water moorings. Internal abrasion might Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere is being
begin to take effect after millions of cycles. Axial gained by a number of completed, current and
compression fatigue might occur after a large number proposed Joint Industry Studies. The technology
of cycles in rope elements that go into compression, needed for employing polyester ropes in deepwater
even though the rope as a whole remains under mooring appears to be well established. However,
tension. further research is needed in order to increase
understanding of long-term durability for permanent
Existing fatigue data on large spliced ropes is moorings, to optimise designs, to reduce
compared with data for steel wire rope given in API conservatively imposed “safety factors”, and to reduce
2SK. The demonstrated polyester rope fatigue life is costs.
at least as good as spiral strand and better than multi-
strand steel wire rope. Two aspects are of particular concern. The first is
the effective stiffness, or more appropriately the total
Computer modelling of rope performance is nonlinear load- extension relation, as it depends on
discussed. Under conditions designed to mean load, cyclic loading range and prior history of
the rope. This information is needed as input to be reviewed in the next section before presenting the
mooring analysis programs, which, in addition to analysis of data on ropes themselves, which is the
determining peak loads and offsets, are used to main purpose of this paper.
compute the loading history expected in a given
installation during its lifetime. It is thus indirectly FIBRE FATIGUE
related to the second concern, which is the subject of
this paper, namely the durability of “permanent” The great variety of fibre failure forms have been
moorings. covered by Hearle et al (1998). Five “fatigue” effects,
The possible causes of rope failures were in addition to structural fatigue, have been noted as
identified by Parsey (1982) in a paper on fatigue of relevant to ropes.
SPM mooring hawsers and by Hearle and Parsey
(1982). Flory, Parsey, and Banfield (1990) updated Tensile fatigue is a mechanism found by Hearle
the listing. Causes of failures were categorised as: and Bunsell (1971) when nylon fibres are cycled down
environmental; surface wear; tensile and structural to zero load. An initial transverse crack turns under
failures (such as tensile overload or torque effects); the influence of shear forces and runs at an angle of
o
and fatigue. about 10 across the fibre. In polyester, the effects
are less severe because the cracks run almost
Corrosion due to sea-water is a potential hazard parallel to the yarn surface. Tests by Oudet et al
for steel. The analogous effect for polyester fibres is (1984) on tyre-cord polyester fibres, which are similar
hydrolysis, but this is not a practical problem. Long in this context to the marine grades used for
times at relatively high temperatures are needed to deepwater moorings, gave a median fatigue life of 105
cause appreciable strength loss due to hydrolisis. cycles and a range of 1½ decades when cycled
Studies by Burgoyne and Merii (1993) extrapolate to a between zero load and 70% of break load. A 10%
o 6
10% loss in strength after 6000 years at 0 C, 200 reduction in peak load increased the median to 10
o o
years at 20 C and 10 years at 40 C. Polyester has cycles. Contrary to earlier studies, these tests
excellent resistance to UV-degradation, so that it is a showed tensile fatigue up to 20% minimum load at
suitable jacket material for ropes of more susceptible 70% maximum. Typical deepwater loading histories
fibres. Other environmental effects, such as will not approach these peak loads and thus, it is the
microbiological attack, are not expected causes of considered view of the authors that the chance of
failure in polyester ropes. However, the long term tensile fibre fatigue failure is negligible.
durability of fibre finishes is an unknown, which needs
addressing. Hysteresis heating is listed as a cyclic fatigue
effect. It is not a problem of current interest in
Ropes can be damaged by cutting and by deepwater moorings, but should be addressed for
abrasion against external objects, particularly care is shallow moorings, which might experience high strain
needed during installation where contact with rollers amplitudes. In other applications, when ropes are
or work wires can cause damage. There are no subject to severe cyclic loading, it can cause melting.
recorded instances of fishbite in large ropes and this The heating is partly caused by energy dissipation
mode of damage has generally been ruled out. In due to hysteresis within fibres and partly to friction
locations where fishbite has been prevalent in small between fibres. A rise in temperature reduces the
buoy mooring ropes, this aspect may need further strength of polyester fibres and thus increases the
attention. susceptibility to other fatigue mechanisms. The fibre
loss factor has been shown by Bosman (1996) to be
Low-twist fibre ropes, which are used for proportional to cyclic amplitude. The results of tests
deepwater moorings in order to optimise tensile on large polyester ropes in a Joint Industry Study, as
strength, need tough braided or plastic jackets in reported by Banfield and Hearle (1998), show that the
order to avoid sensitivity to external abrasion. temperature rise becomes substantial at cyclic strain
However, provided unduly careless handling is amplitudes greater than +0.5% extension, but is small
o
avoided, external damage should not be a problem. (< 5 C) for amplitudes less than +0.5% extension. It
In a properly designed mooring, tensile overload takes about 1 hour for half the temperature rise to
should not occur. Other causes of structural occur. Cyclic load amplitude of about +15% of break
disturbance, such as severe twisting or bending, load corresponds to extension amplitude of +0.5% for
should be avoided. polyester ropes, and this condition is not likely to be
exceeded for significant times in deepwater moorings.
This leaves the effect of lifetime cyclic loading on
the fibres comprising the main internal structure of the Creep rupture occurs under both static and cyclic
rope as the principal mechanism to be considered. loading. For constant cyclic load amplitude, the
Fatigue due to transverse crack growth under cyclic conservative estimate, which is supported by
loading, as occurs in steel, is not a failure mechanism experiment, is to use the peak load as equivalent to
in polyester fibres. However, there are other effects the static load. The appropriate summation for
of cyclic loading on fibres, which are not relevant to variable cyclic loads has not been properly worked
steel wires but are referred to as fatigue. These will out. Short periods of high loading under storm
conditions should not have a major effect, so that it as must be taken with aramid ropes. From Phase
would be reasonable to calculate creep rupture times ψψA (1994) studies it was found that polyester ropes
on the basis of an “average peak load”. Creep can experience many thousands of very low trough
rupture is a cause for concern in HMPE and, to a less load cycles or even complete relaxation without
extent, in nylon. But for polyester it is estimated that it significant strength loss.
would take many thousands of years at 50% of break
load to produce creep rupture. Modelling studies by Axial compression fatigue differs from traditional
Hearle et al (1993) show that creep rupture would be “crack-propagation” forms of fatigue in that it is
the final cause of failure after a rope had been regressive instead of progressive. Thus axial
weakened due to other fatigue effects. compression fatigue does not lead directly to
complete failure of the rope. However, there is a
Internal abrasion is a serious problem in highly possibility that moderate strength loss due to axial
twisted nylon ropes under moderate cyclic loading in compression can initiate or intensify some other
wet conditions. The damage is less in low-twist failure mechanism.
ropes, due to the reduced relative fibre movement
during cyclic loading, and it is much less in polyester A deepwater polyester rope mooring system can
than in nylon, especially for rope yarns with a suitable be designed and operated so as to maintain an
marine finish. Tests carried out with large cyclic adequate minimum tension on the lines in normal
stroke amplitudes on a laboratory yarn-on-yarn conditions. The tension may drop to lower values for
abrasion machine in Fibre Tethers 2000 (1995) limited periods of storm conditions, as long as this is
showed lifetimes up to more than 300,000 cycles for not allowed for an excessive number of cycles. The
polyester yarns. deliberately conservative EDG (1998)
recommendation for polyester ropes is that the
Axial compression fatigue is caused by repeated tension should not drop below 5% of break load for
bending of individual fibres when they are allowed to more than 100,000 cycles, but note above that this
relax while tightly constrained within the structure of a only caused a 3% strength loss in polyester yarns.
rope. Aramid fibres are particularly vulnerable to axial
compression fatigue. In laboratory tests conducted as In summary, it can be said that studies of fibre
part of Tethers 2000, aramid yarns lost approximately and yarn fatigue mechanisms give no reason to
50% of their strength after 1000 compression cycles. expect failures in polyester lines, designed to current
standards and planned lifetimes. The fundamental
This closely corresponds to the results of the Aker science indicates that the performance of polyester
Omega (1993) cyclic load tests on very large aramid ropes will be at least as good as steel ropes, and due
ropes, in which axial compression fatigue caused to the absence of corrosion and of metal fatigue,
failures in splices within several thousand cycles. The polyester rope performance should be appreciably
trough cyclic load was 10% in some of these tests. better. After longer periods, axial compression fatigue
But due to unequal load sharing among the strands in might fail some yarns and increase the load on
splices, some strands went into compression, and others, but it is not apt to directly cause failure in well
when these few strands failed due to axial designed ropes. Ultimately, after millions of cycles,
compression, the structure of the splice was upset internal abrasion is the mechanism which appears
causing complete failure of the rope. most likely to cause loss of strength in polyester
ropes.
Flory (1996) discussed how axial compression
fatigue is not likely to be a problem in polyester rope. FATIGUE CONDITIONS
Because polyester yarn has a lower modulus than
aramid, unequal load distribution is much less likely to Before reviewing the fatigue data on ropes,
take place between fibres, yarns, and strands. consider the loading conditions which might be used
Because polyester yarn has a lower friction coefficient in testing in order to give a reasonable relation to
than aramid, the fibres and yarns are less likely to conditions expected in operation. Note that 20 years
become tightly bound within the rope structure, such at wave frequency generates about 60 million cycles.
that unequal load distribution can place them into Extreme storm conditions can give cyclic loads up to
axial compression as the rope relaxes. +15% of break load, but the limited number of cycles
at these levels will cause little fatigue damage. It is
And many more compression cycles are required the continuous cycling due to millions of small waves,
to induce axial compression fatigue in polyester fibres which give much smaller cyclic load ranges, that has
than in aramid fibres. In the Tethers 2000 JIP, using the potential to cause real fatigue damage. Further
the same laboratory test method as for aramid yarns, work is needed to establish a standard fatigue test
polyester yarn retained 97% strength after 100,000 procedure for comparative purposes or, if necessary,
cycles and 78% strength after 500,000 cycles. the criteria for customised fatigue testing of lines
intended for particular installations. The ideal would
Thus it is not necessary to take the same seem to be a stochastic loading pattern related to
precautions against allowing polyester ropes to relax
predictions of loading in use. conservative for ropes with properly designed
resin sockets.
There are two other complicating factors in fatigue $ Confidential developments by TTI confirm that
testing. improvements in strength and reliability over
previous state-of-the art splices can now be made
Firstly, the nominal break strength quoted for a available.
rope may be less than its real break strength. When
required to supply a rope with a guaranteed break The results are plotted in Fig 1a and 1b along with
load, manufacturers will adopt varying degrees of the API fatigue design curves.
conservatism to ensure meeting the specification.
Paradoxically, the use of a conservative estimate of In Fig. 1a, the Load Range is on a normal scale
break load makes the fatigue response appear better. abscissa, while in Fig. 1b the Load Range is on a log
A mean load or load range based on a given scale as it is in the original API figure. When a
percentage of a conservatively stated break strength, straight line on a log-log plot is replotted on a semi-log
will be a smaller force than the same percentage of a plot, it becomes a curve, as depicted in Fig. 1a.
higher actual break strength. Consequently, the These API wire rope curves are truncated at 60%
actual fatigue-loading test conditions based on a load in Fig. 1a, and in Fig. 1b they are truncated at
conservative break strength will be less severe. 1.75.

Secondly, metal fatigue test data is commonly In each figure, a straight line has been fitted by
plotted against cyclic range, because it has a greater regression analysis through the polyester rope data,
effect than mean load. In fibre ropes, some indicated by the solid squares and triangles. This is
mechanisms are less dependent on load range. the upper full line in each figure. Note that these lines
Creep is strongly influenced by sustained maximum are not equivalent, one having been derived on a
load. Axial compression fatigue is determined mainly semi-log basis and the other on a log-log basis.
by low values of minimum load. Fatigue data should
be obtained and plotted in terms of two variables. During the regression analysis for each figure, the
The most obvious choices are either mean and range standard deviation for the data was also determined.
or maximum and minimum. As apparent above, there The lower full line in each figure represents the “Mean
is also a question as to whether load values or strain - 2 Sigma” for all of the analyzed data. Note that the
values are most appropriate. variation in these polyester rope fatigue data is most
likely caused by including data from several different
ROPE FATIGUE DATA rope constructions and many different manufacturers
and test programs together in the statistical analysis.
It is not surprising that there is no authoritative set It does not represent the expected scatter of fatigue
of data on rope fatigue properties, given the performance for a single given type of rope from one
complications mentioned in the last section, the rope maker. Thus it presents a very conservative
variety of fibre types and rope constructions, the estimate of the minimum cycles-to-failure for good-
heavy and specialised test equipment needed, and quality polyester ropes.
the high cost of testing. Never-the-less, in the
following we attempt to analyse the available data and In Fig. 1a, the polyester “Mean – 2 Sigma” line is
compare it with the fatigue curves for steel chain and above the API six-strand wire rope curve for most of
wire rope given in API 2SK (1997). the range, and it is essentially the same as the API
spiral-strand curve in the mid range of interest. In Fig.
The fatigue life and residual strength data 1 b, this polyester line is above the API wire rope lines
reviewed here is taken from a full analysis of available throughout the lower load ranges. The data points
synthetic fibre rope strength and stiffness data being with a “+” sign to the right of the symbol are run outs.
conducted by TTI. This review is restricted to ropes of
5 tonne and higher Minimum Break Strength (MBS) in The mean regression fit for the fibre rope data is
parallel yarn, parallel strand and wire-rope
constructions, which are the types applicable for Range (%MBS) = - 12.4331*log cycles +109.4622
deepwater mooring lines. For the following reasons,
the review is restricted to spliced lines: and the corresponding lower bound (-2 sigma) fit is

$ Only spliced lines have been validated for fibre Range (%MBS) = -12.4331*log cycles + 90.1357
ropes over 500 tonnes actual break strength.
$ In general spliced terminations give a higher These regressions have been conducted with the
mean strength than other terminations, with same dependent and independent variables as
similar variability. Parsey (1982). However, a comparison of regression
$ Fatigue performance of spliced ropes is results is beyond the scope of this paper and would
somewhat inferior to that of resin-socketed ropes, deserve a separate study.
which means that the predictions will be
 Much of the available polyester rope fatigue data the end when the effective fraction of break load
are for tests in which the rope was cycled a limited becomes large enough to cause creep. Final failure
number of times and then loaded to break in order to occurs when the residual break load, adjusted for
determine residual strength. These residual strength creep rupture, matches the maximum imposed load.
data are plotted here in Fig. 2. All of the residual
strengths are over 100%, meaning that the residual The OPTTI-ROPE program is useful for exploring
strengths were greater than the original MBS, the way in which fatigue might lead to loss of strength
assigned by the manufacturer. Note that several of in ropes. We are not aware of similar programs for
6
these tests extended to one million (10 )load cycles or steel wire ropes. The problem for actual prediction is
more. In comparison, NEL tests (1992) on 70mm six a lack of the necessary quantitative knowledge of
strand wire rope to 50% of life (231,000 cycles at 20% fibre properties. Reasonable estimates can be made
mean ∀ 12.5% load range) gave a measured 15% for the creep and heating parameters in polyester
strength reduction. ropes, or tests can be made to determine them. At
present, there is no confirmed method of applying the
This high residual strength phenomena is not results of fibre tests for the abrasion and axial
unusual. The break strength of synthetic fibre ropes compression parameters to the prediction of rope
generally increases during initial cycling, as the performance. A possible way forward, as proposed
splices set and the rope structure becomes better by TTI and NEL for a durability JIP, is to determine
balanced and aligned. In the case of these data, the incidence of these mechanisms in test ropes. The
which are based on MBS, it probably also reflects the results could then be used as inputs to programs
conservatism of MBS values quoted by rope intended to determine the effects of changes from the
manufacturers. test ropes and conditions.

COMPUTER MODELLING OF ROPE FATIGUE DISCUSSION

The OPTTI-ROPE programs, which are described This paper has demonstrated that the fatigue
by Hearle et al (1993, 1995) derive from work by TTI performance of large good-quality polyester ropes can
for the US Navy. OP TTI-ROPE includes procedures be expected to be as good as that of the wire ropes
for computing the progressive loss of strength and now used in offshore moorings.
eventual failure of fibre ropes. The input to the
programs consists of: However, further testing and research may be
needed to confirm and demonstrate this to the full
Χ load-elongation properties of constituent yarns satisfaction of potential mooring system designers
Χ rope construction geometry and users, classification societies and regulatory
Χ creep rupture parameter authorities.
Χ energy dissipation factor
Χ two constants to give shift of breakpoint with One school of thought is that polyester ropes will
not t be accepted for offshore moorings until it is
demonstrated
e that they can be used for 20 years
without
m failure.
p
In the absence of 20 years of field experience,
e
this rcan be done by cyclic load testing using a realistic
mean a load and amplitude on a full-size specimen of a
particular
t rope design. But it might take nearly 20
yearsu of laboratory testing to reach the 60 million
cycles
r needed to represent 20 years of mooring
service.
e There may be ways to perform such testing
in a reasonable length of time and at a reasonable
Χ rate-of-internal abrasion parameter
cost but these are yet to be demonstrated .
Χ number of cycles to yarn failure in axial
compression
An alternative testing approach is to conduct a
Χ cyclic loading range and frequency number of tests on “standard” polyester ropes at
higher mean loads or amplitudes. This would be
A typical prediction is shown in Fig 3, where the similar to the effort used develop the API 2SK steel
values of the parameters have been chosen to bring wire rope fatigue design curves, which are well
in the several fatigue mechanisms. There are two accepted for design purposes by the industry. These
small steps in the retained strength: an initial drop as design curves were compiled from a number of
the rope heats up to an equilibrium temperature; and sources. The principal work was done in the wire-
a second drop when yarns under axial compression rope joint industry project, reported by Noble Denton
reach the failure limit. Internal abrasion causes a slow (1991), in which the available wire rope fatigue data
decrease in strength, which leads to a rapid drop at was evaluated and further testing was performed to
gain additional confidence. before ultimate failure: 100% residual strength does
not guarantee another year of service. Thus ABS
The TTI/NEL rope durability study has a similar may require that these short rope specimens be
objective to evaluate available synthetic fibre rope subjected to the same fatigue test as was used before
data and provide additional fatigue life data. Like the installation. This will periodically demonstrate residual
wire rope study, this joint industry project will fatigue life, which is much more reassuring.
investigate both large ropes and smaller model ropes
representative of those polyester ropes which are now An alternative to extensive rope fatigue testing is
being considered for offshore moorings. This will be to scientifically identify the principal mechanism(s)
the first such testing to employ a stochastic spectrum which cause rope deterioration and failure; to study
simulating actual mooring load conditions. these through testing of fibres, yarns, rope
components, or small rope models; and then to use
But unlike wire ropes, polyester ropes are not yet these findings in computer models to simulate and
“standardized”. Thus conducting extensive testing on predict the performance of the full size ropes.
one or several specific rope designs is not sufficient to
demonstrate the performance of all other polyester Ironically, because polyester ropes perform so
ropes. well, there is not yet sufficient information on the
nature, extent and rate of the potential polyester rope
The mechanical properties of high-quality deterioration mechanisms to carry out such a study.
polyester yarns are similar. But different proprietary
fibre finishes are used on these yarns to impart As this paper is being written, the authors are
special abrasion-resistance and low-friction carrying out laboratory tests and pathological
characteristics which are very important for rope examinations of the near-full-sized polyester ropes
performance. Rope constructions and terminations which were recently retrieved after two years in the
also differ. Existing designs are being improved and DeepStar TLM in the Gulf of Mexico. Ropes from the
new designs are still being developed. Thus proposed TTI/NEL rope durability JIP will also be
“standardization” at this time would favor certain fibre examined in detail to identify and quantify signs of any
producers and ropemakers and would inhibit the deterioration. If any found, these efforts will reveal
development of better ropes. the principal failure mechanism(s) in polyester ropes.

The new ABS Guide (1999) recognizes this. It Computer models which simulate the fatigue
allows consideration of any viable rope design. It performance of several different types of synthetic
requires that the manufacturer document the rope rope are now available. Once the principal failure
design details, test prototype ropes, and establish mechanisms are known and quantified, it will be
quality control procedures in order to ensure that the possible to use these models to perform a simulation
rope supplied is the same as the tested prototype. of 20 years fatigue in only a few days. The effects of
service variables, such as mean load, amplitude and
To demonstrate minimum fatigue performance, period, can readily be investigated. And the effects of
ABS requires a test in which the rope is cycled about variations in polyester fibre properties and rope
a mean tension of 30% of mean wet break strength structure on rope fatigue life can be investigated
with an amplitude of 10%. If the rope survives without having to construct actual ropes.
600,000 cycles, the synthetic rope fatigue properties
are classified as equivalent to spiral-strand wire as Furthermore, it will then be possible to perform a
given in API 2SK (1997). If the rope survives 100,000 complete fatigue performance of each leg of a
cycles, ABS classifies the synthetic rope fatigue mooring system using realistic load histories for the
properties as equivalent to multi-strand wire. ABS entire service life before installing the system, and
then permits the applicable API fatigue design then to reperform this analysis using real load
procedures to be used for the tested polyester rope histories while the system is in service. When this
design. can be done, it should not be necessary to remove
and test sample ropes from deepwater mooring
systems to reverify fatigue life.
This fatigue test practice is sufficient to certify the
initial installation of a polyester rope mooring system. CONCLUSIONS
But it may still be necessary to reverify and recertify
the rope while it is in service. There is now sufficient information to justify the
use of good-quality polyester rope in deepwater
One suggested practice is to periodically conduct offshore moorings. Such ropes can be expected to
break tests on short rope specimens removed from have fatigue performance at least as good as that of
the mooring. Such break testing demonstrate the typical wire rope. This conclusion is based on
rope residual strength. But this does not demonstrate examination of the basic polyester fibre properties,
the remaining service life of that rope. Some forms of performance analysis by computer of low-twist-
rope deterioration develop slowly but accelerate just construction ropes, evaluation of available fatigue test
data on small and large ropes, and consideration of Laboratory.
present field service information.
Prediction of Wire Rope Endurance for Mooring
But the fatigue performance of polyester ropes Offshore Structures JIP, Partial Life Fatigue and
depends upon the fibre quality, the rope construction, Residual Strength of Six Strand Wire Rope, NEL
and the termination design as well as on the cyclic report 011/92, April 1992.
load history. Thus further laboratory testing may be
needed to quantify the effects of the many variables EDG (1998) Noble Denton Europe and Tension
and to provide additional design information for a Technology International: Engineers Design Guide for
particular polyester rope design and a particular Deepwater Fibre Moorings, Oilfield Publications.
mooring installation.
Fibre Tethers 2000 (1995) Joint Industry Study: High
It should not be necessary to perform 20 years of Technology Fibres for Deepwater Tethers,
fatigue testing before beginning to use polyester NDE/NEL/TTI, Noble Denton Report
ropes in actual mooring systems. A simple fatigue L17317/NDE/rws, February 10, 1995, with additions
test can be performed to demonstrate that a particular June 20,1995.
polyester rope has performance equivalent to that of
the wire ropes now being used. And this performance ... ABS Guide For Synthetic Ropes in Offshore
can then be reverified by periodically removing Mooring Applications, American Bureau of Shipping,
samples of rope from service and performing further New York, 1999.
testing to demonstrate remaining fatigue life.
... Deep Water Aramid Mooring Line Joint Industry
In the near future, it should be possible to use Joint Industry Project, Phase 2 Final Report”, Aker
computer models to simulate synthetic fibre rope Omega, Houston, 1993.
testing and field performance. Such computer
simulations require an understanding of the principal J.F. Flory, “Avoiding Fibre Axial Compression Fatigue
fatigue mechanisms of polyester ropes, but this in the Design and Use of Tension Members”, Proc.
knowledge may soon be available from several Oceans ‘96 Conferenct, MTS/IEEE, Piscataway, NJ,
present joint industry projects. Computer simulations 1996.
will be much quicker, easier, and more economical
than laboratory testing. J.F. Flory, M.R. Parsey and S.J. Banfield, “Factors
Affecting Life of Synthetic Fibre Ropes in Marine
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M.R. Parsey (1982) Fatigue of SPM mooring hawsers,

OTC 4307.
 Mean, polyester

API Six/Multi

Figure 1a Cycles to Failure, Polyester Data vs. API Wire Rope Design Curve
Load Range on Normal Scale

Mean,polyeste r

API Six/M ulti

Figure 1b Cycles to Failure, Polyester Data vs. API Wire Rope Design Curve
Load Range on Log Scale
 Figure 2 Residual Strength After Cycling, Polyester Rope Data

Figure 3 Residual Strength vs. Applied Cycles, Modelling Simulation Using

OpTTI-Rope Computer Program